Marie O'Shaughnessy aka Orca Magic - has been taking photos and blogging with Prince of Whales for 3 years
Clint Rivers aka Orca Wizard - has been taking photos and blogging with Prince of Whales for 3 years
Maria Chantelle Tucker aka Orcagirl - has been taking photos, videos, developing and managing the blog for 6 years
Leshell Michaluk is a naturalist and is the Sales and Operational Manager for Prince of Whales
Our Wildlife trip this Sunday afternoon was set against dramatic skies and seas. We left the harbour with Capt. Gord in the wheelhouse, and Brandon and Dan as our naturalists on board.
Although the season is coming to a close for the Ocean Magic sailings, our Zodiacs will be heading out daily in search of the amazing wildlife and stunning scenery to be seen here on the west coast. We headed south and west insearch of whales. Our visit to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve always provides great looks at those blonde boys, the Steller Sea Lions, posturing for the best positions on the rocks. Harbour and Elephant Seals were also seen in this location. Bait-balls with hovering gulls above were viewed as we searched for Humpback Whales that have been seen frequently over the past month or so. We finally came across two familiar Humpback whales, Split Fin and Split Fluke as they are affectionately known. These two have been visiting these waters at this time of year, since 2006. They were first brought here by their mothers as calves at that time. We watched these two gentle-giants foraging, lifting their enormous flukes/tails to take deep dives.
This was a great ending to our wildlife trip this afternoon, and our guests were all smiles as we disembarked once back at the dock. Another fantastic trip once again with Prince of Whales.
Marie “Orca-Magic”, Clint “Orcawizard”
Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.
It certainly was a great day for an adventure. The sun was out and the winds light as our Skipper Scotty slipped the Ocean Magic from Victoria’s inner harbour. He headed us south in a search to find members of the southern resident community of Orca. We worked our way south and the east towards Hein Bank. Here we found members of J and K pod’s spread out and feeding. We observed these apex predators chasing salmon down, fluke slapping and spy hops. Dan and Liz our Naturalist answered all the questions and passed on a wealth of information about these apex predators. We then spotted a pair of Humpback Whales not far away. We got some great views of these gentle giants as they came up for air. Our guests were treated to yet another great marine wildlife adventure with Prince Of Whales!
Clint “Orcawizard
Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.
It was another sunny day here on the west coast, this Friday afternoon. With Capt. Scott in the wheelhouse, and Naturalists, Dan and Claire on board, we headed west to seek out some Humpback Whales that had been reported, near Race Rocks Lighthouse. October is a great month to see these behemoths, some of the heavy-weights of the oceans, foraging on tiny schooling fish before they head out to their wintering grounds, in warmer waters. We watched one individual become quite active, with tail slaps. There were three sets of two individual Humpbacks traveling together, less than a mile from each other. Almost all of the Humpback whales seen lately in this area are ones that have visited this area over the past 6-10 yrs. It was awesome to watch them take their deep dives and show their distinct patterned flukes. Several bait-balls where noisy gulls congregated could be seen, and the ever present deep sea vessels were evident. A trip over to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve gave us great looks at Steller Sea lions, Harbour and Elephant seals, and three species of Cormorant on rocks. With plenty of sunshine on this trip, our guests were able to enjoy the incredible wildlife that this area has to offer.
Marie,’ Orca-Magic ‘
Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.
The afternoon wildlife trip set off this Monday with Capt. Gord in the wheelhouse. Naturalists, Brandon and Dan were on board to provide our guests with an educational and fun filled trip. A report had come in that the Southern resident Orca had been seen earlier, but after an extensive search, south and east we were unable to locate them. Our Capt then headed the Ocean Magic west toward Race Rocks lighthouse where we encountered two Humpback whales. These huge whales were busy foraging for schooling fish. They would lift their flukes as they took a deep dive. Despite the sun being out, the wind was up and the sea had considerable chop, which created an exciting trip for us all. Our intrepid ‘Prince of Whales ‘ zodiac driver Mark, who was out on the water too, radioed that 5 Transient killer whales had been spotted near our position. This sighting gave our guests great looks at the top predator of this area, marine mammal hunters. We headed back to the harbour after a visit to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, where we viewed Steller and California Sea Lions, Elephant and Harbour Seals lounging on rocks. It was another interesting, October wildlife trip.
Marie, ‘Orca-Magic ‘
Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.
It doesn’t matter which way we travel, we will always find some of the great west coast wildlife that frequents this area. The 12:15 Ocean Magic II with Capt. Gord and Naturalist Dan on board, headed the vessel southwest where we found a pair of Humpbacks. As we watched these two gentle giants, we spotted two other pairs of Humpback Whales.. We watched these groups as they rose from the deep and showed their massive tails as they dove. We then headed to race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Here we observed Stellar Sea Lions, California Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, Elephant Seals and a variety of marine birds. It was another great wildlife trip with “Prince of whales”.
Clint “Orcawizard”, Marie “Orca-Magic”.
Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.
